November 22, 2000August 2, 2026

Exhibit 190: Letter from Consulting Engineers Council of Washington to Ecology Regarding RCW 39.80 Violation in Sea-Tac Third Runway NRMP RFP

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Letter dated November 22, 2000 from Bill Garrity, Executive Director of the Consulting Engineers Council of Washington (CECW), to Erik Stockdale at the Washington Department of Ecology (AR 018492–018493). The letter addresses the Request for Bid (RFP dated November 14, 2000) for review of the Natural Resource Mitigation Plan (NRMP) for the SeaTac Third Runway project, asserting that the RFP conflicts with RCW 39.80 by requiring cost estimates in the proposal. Cites Attorney General Opinion AGO 1988 No. 4 prohibiting consideration of cost or fee in determining the most qualified engineering firm, and WAC 196-27-020(5)(f) and WAC 196-27-010(3) regarding professional engineer misconduct. Recommends amending the RFP to eliminate cost/fee requirements. Copied to State Attorney General Christine O. Gregoire and Clifford Webster of the Architects and Engineers Legislative Council.

Sidebar On/Off

As the source for federal transportation grants, the Puget Sound Regional Council was charged with developing a system to meet the growing need for commercial aviation. When the search for a second airport failed, they authorized the Port of Seattle to build the Third Runway, with a mandate to develop a noise abatement and mitigation program. In their effort to stop the Third Runway, the ACC argued over every detail of the Port's efforts--including property buyouts and sound insulation. The dispute was meant to be settled by a three member Expert Arbitration Panel. This is their final report. It finds 2-1, that the Port's program was insufficient in several respects. Despite that, funding for the Third Runway was approved by the PSRC, and the 'Port Package' program, proceeded largely unchanged. Expert Arbitration Panel's final decision finding that the Port of Seattle had not shown sufficient reduction in real on-the-ground noise impacts to satisfy noise reduction conditions required for approval of a third runway at Sea-Tac International Airport. The majority decision concluded the Port's noise abatement programs were insufficient despite being impressive in scope.

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